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17.11.2012 » Real Madrid 5-1 Athletic Bilbao. Benzema leads an attacking storm
The Merengues left no doubts about who has been the best side last night at the Santiago Bernabéu and imposed the home law in a 5-1 win against a weak Athletic Bilbao. The Madridismo held big expectations to see how Ronaldo would return a week after he got injured at Levante, but the spotlights of the night were instead turned to Karim Benzema, who put on a great display, as he showed all his class and got involved in several Real Madrid goals. With this victory, Barcelona and Real Madrid keep apart by 8 points in La Liga standings, as everyone will now prepare for another UEFA Champions League midweek round and a promising Manchester City vs Real Madrid set for this Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao
Real Madrid 5-1 Athletic Bilbao goals and highlights:
Twelve minutes was all Real Madrid needed to get the opener against Athletic Bilbao and it all started in a long pass made by Luca Modric, into the back of the visiting side's defense. Karim Benzema ran into the space, showed a terrific ball control and as he was preparing to strike it, he saw Athletic Bilbao's defender Aurtenetxe crossing in front of him and sending the ball backwards by lobbing his own goalkeeper. Own-goal and the Merengues had just got a one goal lead.
Real Madrid didn't slow down the pace after that first goal and got rewarded a few minutes later (30th minute), with Sergio Ramos putting the home side two goals up. Mesut Ozil took a free-kick on the right, crossed the ball deep into the area and the Spanish center defender didn't find much opposition to head it past Iraizoz.
There was still no reaction in sight from Marcelo Bielsa's pupils, and it was with no big surprise that the 3rd goal appeared, once again in Real Madrid's favor. In what was by far the best goal of the night, Karim Benzema picked a pass already inside Athletic Bilbao's area, turned to his right to get some space and curled the ball into the far post. No chance for Iraizoz and a magical goal for Karim Benzema had just put the Merengues in a comfortable 3 goals lead, with still much game time left to be played.
The visitors had a small sample of a reaction just a few minutes before half-time and reached their lonely goal as the clocks ticked during the 42nd minute. Ibai Gomez got well positioned for a low cross coming from the right wing and with a first touch shot he sent the ball into the back of Real Madrid's net, beating an helpless Iker Casillas for the first time that night.
Both teams reached half-time knowing that the final outcome of this game would hardly be any different from what it was already by then, but the Merengues kept pushing forward and still got rewarded with a couple more goals.
With 56 minutes played, Cristiano Ronaldo received a ball inside Athletic Bilbao's half, turned very quickly and made a good pass to Karim Benzema, who was already escaping his marking a few meters ahead. The Frenchman drove the ball forward towards Bilbao's area, until he spotted Mesut Ozil showing up through the center and in a privileged position to also leave his mark in the game. Benzema showed his unselfishness and assisted Mesut Ozil for an easy tap-in goal, making it 4-1 for the home side.
The game kept rolling and there would still be time for another Merengues goal, this time scored by Sami Khedira, who had replaced Mesut Ozil in the 61st minute. The German will have to give a proper thank to Alvaro Arbeloa though, since the Spanish right-back's incursion from the right wing teared apart most of the remaining Bilbao's defensive discipline at that stage of the game and granted Khedira with a good chance to score. The German midfielder received the ball inside Bilbao's area with plenty of time to prepare his shot and even though he didn't aim at one of the posts, his strong shot still got past Iraizoz, setting the final score this Saturday night into a clear 5-1.
Real Madrid line-up vs Athletic Bilbao:
Goalkeeper: Casillas
Defenders: Fábio Coentrão, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Arbeloa
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Modric, Ozil
Attackers: Callejón, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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Real Madrid
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Athletic Bilbao
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5 |
Goals |
1 |
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Shots |
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Shots on goal |
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Corner kicks |
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Fouls commited |
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Yellow cards |
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Red cards |
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Ball possession |
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Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid will mark his return to Manchester, to face Manchester City for the UEFA Champions League, next Wednesday (21-11-2012). In the meantime, you can watch Juventus vs Chelsea, Spartak Moscow vs Barcelona, Galatasaray vs Manchester United, and Valencia vs Bayern Munich, all matches provided from our soccer live section.
Real Madrid next game:
Manchester City vs Real Madrid kick-off time (21-10-2012):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+8: 02:45
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+2: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+1: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-1: 17:45
New York (United States) | GMT-4: 14:45
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-7: 11:45
Beijing (China) | GMT-7: 11:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / realmadrid.com
